Hearts, Stars, and Snowflakes
by SharleaNorth
Summary: I had forgotten Roxas wouldn't remember what snowflakes were. What's up with the new kid anyway? He seems too emotional, almost like he has a heart. .:Friendship:.


I don't know why, but I've been doing a lot of little stories. I just wrote this one this evening. It's snowing where I live, and I totally just had this idea flash before me and had to write it. This is not meant to be a pairing story, but if that's how you want to take it, fine, just don't tell me. :P I want you to read it before I start talking about it, so I'll comment again at the end of the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

"Axel…Axel…Axel, wake up!"

I rolled over to find the newest member of Organization XIII staring at me wide eyed.

"What?"

"The stars, they're all falling out of the sky!" He said glancing over the white couch I was sleeping on out the windowed wall. "There's so many falling there won't be any left in the sky!"

I buried my face in the back cushion of the couch. After I had gotten home from my mission, I had been too tired to make it back to my room. I'd decided to take a nap on one of the couches and had ended up falling asleep. I didn't know how long I had been there; it was impossible to know what time of day it was in a world that knows only darkness.

"No, Axel, you have to come look! Something's wrong!"

I turned to look at the young Nobody. I'd basically be in charge of him since he first got here. Not just a few days ago I was wishing the kid would stop acting like a zombie and talk. Now I just wished he'd shut up.

"Please, Axel."

I rubbed the palms of my hands across my eyes and took a deep breath. "This had better be good, man."

"Look." He responded by pointing out the window.

I groaned as I pulled myself up into a sitting position and again when I realized that what Roxas thought was a sign of the end of the world really wasn't something to be waking me up about.

"Roxas, that's snow."

"Snow?" He asked staring out the window at the large white flakes drifted past the window.

"Yes, snow." I said, "We get a lot of precipitation here."

"Precipitation, what's that?" He asked.

I stood and stretched, deciding to go back to my room and finish sleeping. "It's rain, snow, and sleet. We get a lot, that's why outside the castle is always wet."

"Oh." He said his gaze following a snowflake's descent.

"It's no big deal. It'll be gone by the morning. It only sticks for a little while."

"It's sticky?"

"What are you talking about, man? It's just snow. We've all seen it before." I said, staring at the kid.

"I haven't, or at least, I don't remember seeing it." He said with a sad smile.

Oh, yeah. The kid didn't remember his past. Way to go, Axel. I sighed realizing what I had to do.

"Come on, Roxas." I said summoning a portal, "It's prettier to watch from outside."

"Will it stick to us?" He asked, his forehead wrinkling a bit.

I couldn't help but smile, "Why don't you see for yourself?"

* * *

My boots crunched in the small accumulation of snow that had fallen into the streets of The World that Never Was.

"Does it hurt?" Roxas called from the portal, having not yet summoned enough courage to test out the new surroundings.

"Nope, it's kinda like taking a shower." I said catching a flake on my glove. "Please tell me you know what that is."

"Yeah I…" Roxas began before he realized I was teasing him. Letting only his foot emerge from the portal the Nobody tested the new world. "It's squishy."

"Yeah, come here," I said, letting the kid find his way over to me slowly.

"This is what I mean by sticky." I explained as I showed him the snow that I had packed together in a ball. "It holds its shape."

"What is snow, though?" He asked blinking a way a snowflake that fell in his eye.

"It's water." I said, trying to remember, "It's just frozen some."

Roxas bent down and scooped up a glove full of snow. "So this is water? Like the stuff in an ocean?"

I nodded, "You'll have to talk to Demyx to get the exact explanation though."

But he had already lost interest in what the snow was made of and had become preoccupied with what it looked like.

"Axel!" he called, running up and showing me the sleeve of his jacket, "Look, they're all different. If you look really close, you can see different designs on them."

"They say that no two snowflakes are the same." I explained, "Each one is special."

"What happens when two are exactly the same?" He asked.

"It doesn't happen. Something's always different."

"That's so cool." He whispered, inspecting the flakes again. "So what else can snow do?"

"Do? I don't think snow does much." I said rubbing the back of my head, "But you can build snowmen and make snow angels."

"How do you do those things?"

I spent the next hour and a half building a snowman with the kid. His reactions were amazing. He looked just like a little kid, tripping in the snow as I showed him how to roll the snowball for the middle of the snowman. His eyes sparkled as he pictured how the snowman was supposed to look, since we couldn't find anything for the arms or the face. The shocked look that flashed across his face the instant the snow touched the bare skin on his neck as he laid down to make a snow angel. The sound of his laugh as it bounced off the deserted buildings when he stood up to see what his angel looked like.

"Axel." He asked as we took a break sitting at the bottom of the skyscraper. "If you guys can play in the snow all the time, why is everyone here so sad?"

"We're not sad." I said, trying to figure out a way to explain our situation to the young Nobody, "We just don't enjoy snow as much as you do."

"Why not?"

_We can't_

"We just don't have as big of a heart as you do, I guess." I said with a slight smile as I watched Roxas catch a snowflake on his tongue.

He gave me a funny look, but I changed the subject. "I haven't showed you coolest part about snow yet."

"What's that?" He said, turning to me.

"This," I said, shoving a handful of snow in his face.

"What was that for?" He said as he brushed the snow off his face.

"That is called a snowball fight." I said arming myself with another snowball.

Picking up his own snowball, Roxas shouted at me "You could have given me a heads up."

"Where's the fun in that?"

A volley of snowballs followed as we hurled them at each other for awhile, until my lack of sleep caught up.

"Okay, man, I'm done for now." I said summoning a portal.

He nodded and dropped the snow in his hand, "Me too."

I waited until he had caught up before I started towards the portal.

"Hey, Axel," He said, "Thanks for taking me out here."

"No problem." I said over my shoulder, the same instant a burning cold hit the back of my neck.

I flinched and spun around to find Roxas smiling.

"What was that for? You should at least warn someone before you do that."

"Where's the fun in that?" He said running into the portal.

I looked after him and laughed. I laughed harder then I had in a long time, enjoying the echo from the buildings. I had heard a theory from a few of the older members that Roxas had his heart. I had always kind of laughed at the idea. Nobodies don't have hearts. But after watching the kid and his reactions, I knew that the other members had been right.

And as I heard my laugh echoing back at me I realized something else: His heart was contagious.

* * *

Okay, so as I was writing this I totally got this family feeling from it, so I just went with it. To me, Axel had this big brother/fatherly figure feel throughout and Roxas seemed like such a little kid. It takes place right after Roxas joins the Organization 'cause he's still learning things and stuff, so yeah. Just something cute for you guys to read. :)

Reviews please!

Sharlea

Oh, I'm still taking opinion on if I should get a facebook so I can keep in touch with you guys and let you know when things are going to be coming up and not. I think it would also help me keep in touch with you guys and get opinions on what kind of stories you want to read. :) Let me know.


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